Commercial aircraft of the world
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CCCP-86007
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The Ilyushin 11-86—the only Soviet widebody
figure is scarcely impressive, contrasting
with the comfortable transatlantic range
of the TriStar 100 and high-gross-weight
DC-10-10 at similar weights and payloads.
The 11-86 does, however, have a particularly
large cabin with wide aisles, and this
penalises the aircraft to some extent.
The Kuznetsov NK-86 engines have only
moderate pressure and bypass ratios, and
were possibly chosen for the sake of
reliability, indicating perhaps a Soviet
weakness in the area of high-temperature
turbine blade technology.
The 11-86 is the first Soviet commercial
aircraft to feature quadruplex hydraulic
systems, all independent. It is the first to
lack manual reversion for the primary
flight controls—the 11-76 possesses this
feature despite its size—and also intro
duces to Soviet service a system for on
board monitoring of engine and system
performance. The 11-86 is supposed to have
been designed for on-condition mainten
ance.
A completely new feature of the 11-86
is the anti-icing system fitted to the wings
and empennage, developed by the Ilyushin
bureau. Instead of using hot air, the system
breaks up ice by generating high-frequency
electromagnetic pulses. It is claimed to use
500 times less energy than conventional
hot-air or electrical systems. The Ilyushin
system is now being studied by several
Western companies.
The unique passenger-loading arrange
ment of the 11-86, in which the passengers
carry their own baggage into underfloor
vestibules before entering the cabin via
internal stairways, is claimed to yield
practical turnround times of as little as
50min with a full load of passengers. But
a version of the aircraft is available with
out this feature. Deletion of the three
internal staircases and three external
hydraulically operated airstairs saves
6,5001b (3,000kg) in operating empty
weight, and makes room for 25 more seats
for a total capacity of 375 seats.
It is expected that a long-range wide-
body, based on the 11-86, will be introduced
by the Soviet Union once suitable engines
are available. Latest reports suggest that
the Kuznetsov design bureau is responsible
for the development of a large high-bypass-
ratio engine, a prerequisite for the evolu
tion of any such aircraft. It should be noted
that, by 1986-87, noise regulations will bar
the obsolescent 11-62 from many Western
ftirports. Because of the row over the
supply of Western technology for the
Soviet gas pipeline project, it seems highly
unlikely that export licences would be
granted for the supply of Rolls, GE or
P&W high-bypass-ratio engines as was once
discussed.
Programme Status: In production with 20
(?) in service against a long-term
requirement for several hundred.
TU-134A. The Tu-134 and the current pro
duction Tu-134A are small aircraft. The
stretched 134A can accommodate 70-84
people and it is presumably with an eye
to supplementing this aircraft in the East
that Rombac/CNIAR are putting the One-
Eleven 560 into production. When com
pared with the F.28 Mk 4000, perhaps its
closest Western equivalent, it weighs some
30,0001b (13,500kg) more at take-off.
Programme Status: Slow production rate
against a continuing requirement with
625 plus (?) produced.
TU-144D. The Russian supersonic airliner
is fast approaching the time when it has
to be dropped from the survey. Although
an improved version powered by four
Kolesov turbojets in place of the original
Kuznetsov NK-144 is believed to have been
test flown, the aircraft has not achieved
regular service status. The first prototype
made its maiden flight in December 1968.
Programme Status: Trials programme only.
Tu-154. The Tu-154, now available as the
Tu-154B, is the standard Soviet domestic
airliner and production has probably now
reached the 500-plus point. It did not have
a very happy career with Egyptair and
would not be very attractive to Western
customers. It is rather bigger than the new
short/medium-range Yak-42 and a lot
smaller than the 11-86 widebody. In the
longer term it could well be replaced by
an aircraft in the class of the 757/767/
A310 but there are no signs yet that a
suitable engine is available.
Programme Status: Series production with
deliveries at least at the 500 point.
Yak-42. The 120-seat Yak42 is the only
Soviet airliner which could be said to be
powered by a "latest generation" turbo-
fan. It took six years to translate the air
craft from a flying prototype into an in-
service airliner. This compares with per
haps 18 months in the West—although in
fairness it has to be pointed out that the
Soviet practice is to use true prototypes
for the early development and then refine
the design into a production machine. The
Yak-42 was, for example, flown with two
different wing sweeps for comparative
purposes. The aircraft has reasonably good
airfield performance and is deployed on
regional routes by Aeroflot. A stretched
version with 140-seat capacity has been
reported to be under development.
Programme Status: In production with
perhaps 60 delivered against a large
requirement.
Peoples Republic
of China
The Chinese aerospace industry remains
something of a puzzle. Some details about
new designs and projects, like the 120-seat
Y-10 and proposals to re-engine the Trident
with the CFM56, appear from time to time.
But there are doubts that any have
reached the status of volume production
programmes. The Chinese have talked to
several Western manufacturers about new
aircraft purchases and about licence pro
duction and the 737 was recently demon
strated in China. There have also been
suggestions that CAAC, the national air
line, will take advantage of the availability
of cheap used aircraft in the West to re-
equip. It is highly unlikely that any
Chinese airliners will make an impact on
the Western market for at least a decade.
(With the possible exception of the 17-seat
Y-11T Turbo-Panda.)
Y-10 (C + 10) Yunshuji. The 120-seat Y-10 is
believed to have flown in August or Sep
tember 1980 but has not been reported in
service with CAAC. Prototype examples
were seen by Western observers in 1980
who report that it closely resembles a 707
but has a five-abreast layout and a maxi-
FLIGHT International, 23 October 1982 1215